Jewellery is usually bought in retail stores. Items such as rings are usually displayed in a glass case. Traditional ring displays use a series of slots into which the rings are inserted. Where the ring is provided with a precious stone in a setting, the setting and stone project above the slotted display but much of the ring is not visible thereby diminishing the visual impact of the entire ring upon the prospective purchaser.
Usually a small paper price tag is attached to the ring by a small string. The price tag is either tucked into the slot in the ring display, in which case it is not visible to the prospective purchaser or it is left on the surface of the ring display creating a disorganized and unsightly display.
Prior art ring holders have been devised to address the problem cited above.
U.S. Pat. No. 329,018 granted to T. S. Coffin on Oct. 27, 1885, provides a ring tray comprising a series of clamps which are adapted to slide vertically through apertures in the surface plate of the ring tray. The clamps are biased downwardly by a spring so as to engage the inner surface of the ring and bias the ring against the top of the tray. As a result, the ring is held in a position at right angles to the surface of the ring tray. A disadvantage of the Coffin ring tray is its complicated spring arrangement. The Coffin device does not disclose any mechanism for displaying the price of the ring in an efficient nor aesthetically pleasing manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,197,166 granted to H. R. Sandler on Jul. 27, 1965, provides for a ring holder comprising a metallic base and clamp which, by magnetic attraction, clamps the ring to the base in a vertical position. The Sandler patent does not disclose an efficient mechanism for displaying the price of the ring and requires the use of a non-traditional metallic base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,920 granted to David B. Kruger on Mar. 3, 1987, discloses a jewellery display stand provided with a base member and a tab member for holding a ring by clamping the inner surface of the ring against the base member. The Kruger display also provides for a price tag retainer which is removably affixed to the base member. As contemplated by the Kruger patent, the ring display is self-supporting and is intended to rest on a flat surface. Nothing in the Kruger patent indicates that it can be used with a traditional slotted ring display.
Thus a ring holder which holds the ring in a vertical orientation and is adapted to be received by a traditional slotted display is desirable.